A woman who treats severe cases of head lice for a living has opened up about the one which haunts her the most.
Rachel Maroun, 21, has been offering treatments for six years after finding a love for helping others with their hair when she was just 15.
The technician, from Sydney, Australia, usually treats children - and says she loves her "weird" job".
But Rachel, who now runs her own private clinic, says some cases leave her inconsolable.
She said she sometimes sees children in extremely “heartbreaking” situations but she refuses to be beaten even by terrible infestations.
There was one time things almost got too much and the young entrepreneur says it was hard to see the child suffering.
“Her whole head was basically an open wound,” she told news.com.au.
“The hair was like a helmet about to just be pulled off but there was no point in combing it, we needed to get it off, start fresh.
“That’s always very heartbreaking. I think it would have just caused way more pain than good.
"I think even the process of just brushing it, let alone treating the lice, would have been hell.”
Rachel shared footage of the girl’s head crawling with lice to TikTok with a message for parents who leave their children in agony.
Showing bites on the young girl’s hands where the lice had jumped from her head, the expert went on: “Lice is one thing. But neglect is another.
"I see both at work but nothing compares to this,” she said.
The video has been viewed almost 30 million times since it was shared in November.
She uses a medical device to remove the bloodsucking insects, and charges on average $150, around £80, per treatment.
She said online: “People act like it is the most disgusting thing, it has a lot of stigma.
“A lot of people think I am joking, or that I am crazy, but I like having a weird job. I like not having an average, normal thing to do every day."
Rachel feels there’s a “lack of education around not only head lice, but how to treat them”.
She added: “Head lice love clean hair, the cleaner you are the more likely you are to head lice.
“It has nothing to do with being dirty or having dirty hair. People think lice will fall out when you have a shower – that is not true.
“Kids can catch lice in a swimming pool, which is another reason to use swimming caps.”
